Death of a Shooting Star
by ahack6
Summary: Tragedy strikes the Grimm family when one falls victim to Mirror's vengeance. A long oneshot describing how they feel during the funeral and how they cope afterwards. Sad. R&R! K  because of depressing content.


**I read limegreenwordmachine's story Empty, which is a wonderfully written piece of literature that describes Sabrina at Daphne's funeral, and was reminded of a plot bunny that I'd forgotten about months ago. **

**Damn, I'm just pumping out the oneshots, huh? **

**Anyway, you'll figure out the gist of what happens here. Quite depressing, I may add. Sigh... **

**Be prepared for an exceptionally long oneshot. Remember I warned you, okay? **

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><p>Daphne didn't know if she could do this much longer. She was shaking violently, her breaths coming in labored gasps, and she felt like she was drowning in a pit of sadness and black dispair. It didn't help that she was sobbing, which also gave her the hiccups. Her tears dropped like glittering crystals onto the perfectly pressed black dress Granny Relda had bought for her ages ago. Never had anyone imagined she'd wear it to such an occasion.<p>

The day was much too perfect, one of Nature's cruel jokes. The sun streamed in and doused the warm wooden pews of the church in a heavenly glow, lighting up the faces of the packed building, and making their own tears sparkle. No, this wasn't a joke, Daphne thought bitterly. This was punishment.

Veronica and Henry were sobbing silently into each other's shoulders, mourning. It shouldn't have ended like this. Not so suddenly. Not so soon. Granny Relda sat with her eyes closed, but they couldn't hold the tears that escaped from the corners of her eyelids and trickled down once rosy cheeks. She blamed herself for this terrible tragedy. Baby Basil sat in her lap, looking adorable in a tiny tux, yet solemn. He could tell something was wrong, and it was that sense of dread that had kept him from making a fuss throughout the service. Beside Relda stood Canis, Red and Jake, all very still and tense, and, finally, Puck.

The poor faerie was shell-shocked. His emerald eyes were huge, his mouth a hard line, his hair combed. He looked pitiful, the epitome of a young boy in denial. Every once and a while, his lips would form the single word, "No." His face made Daphne want to cry harder, for all that everyone in the church had lost.

Eventually, the pastor sat down, deep in thought. He had finished speaking, and was now at a loss for words. Without thinking, Daphne suddenly stood, and was suddenly walking down the aisle, blinded by tears and grief and so many other emotions her thoughts were blurry. She just knew that she had to get to the solid oak casket set in the middle of the raised dais.

It was a beautiful coffin, really, specially made by Geppetto (and free of charge). Daphne would have spent hours studying the intricate carvings of flowers and words on the sides if it didn't make her so sad. Her fingers traced a design numbly now, as she peered into the navy-blue lined depths of her sister's last resting place.

Sabrina looked beautiful. Her skin had lost its warm, lively glow, but it was a milky, soft color that reminded Daphne of her mother's ivory pearls. Her sister's lips were pale but full, parted slightly even though they were supposed to be secured shut. Her eyes- her gleaming sapphire eyes- were shut forever. Daphne would never get to see their dance of determination and courage again. And her hair. Oh, her _hair._ Snow White herself had brushed it out, formed a headband out of small, intertwined braids around the crown of Sabrina's head, and laced delicate moonflowers throughout the rest of the loose, wavy locks. She'd offered to let Daphne help, but the little girl couldn't bring herself to. Brushing out her sister's hair would not comfort her this time.

A tear fell, wetting a small portion of Sabrina's baby-blue dress. Daphne's knees felt weak. She began to see stars. Her sister... her brave, strong sister...

_Granny Relda faced Sabrina, a sneer curling her lips. Possessed by Mirror's dark spirit, the old woman clutched a single poisoned dagger, the item which she was going to use to cut through the barrier, now that the Vorpal Sword was out of her possession. And the only thing standing between her and freedom was Sabrina and Daphne Grimm. _

_It was so wrong._

_At first, there had been mere threats thrown around. The possessed old woman snarled at them to get out of the way, or risk the wrath of the Cursed Dagger; the Grimm girls told her to back down, that they would never allow her- Mirror, really- to escape. Now, it was getting serious. Weaponless, the girls simply stood their ground, and Mirror was getting more and more confident._

_Daphne knew that it would become physical any second. Sabrina played her last card, that oh-so-overused line: "You'll have to get through us first, you filthy reflection." Granny Relda cackled, her voice marred by evil._

_"That ought to be easy enough, _liebling._" _

_Sabrina scowled, and Daphne knew what her sister was thinking__. The nickname _'liebling' _was something that Granny Relda- and only the _real_ Granny Relda- was allowed to use, in the girls' opinions. Mirror had crossed a line. Well... several lines, by this point. _

_It happened very quickly after that. Granny lunged, dagger raised. For a moment, Daphne felt a flash of alarm. This felt so _wrong. _Their grandmother shouldn't be attacking them. But suddenly Sabrina shoved Daphne out of harm's way, knocking the little girl to the ground, and yanked the dagger out of Granny Relda's hands, twisting it with one fluid motion and plunging it into the old lady's stomach. There was a terrible moment when Daphne wanted to strangle her sister. She had, after all, sacrificed Granny's life without even asking, but then black smoke began to trickle out of the old lady's mouth. _

_"Sabrina?" Daphne asked, shocked. The dagger fell out of Granny's stomach, but it did not look like it had caused any damage. There was no blood, only that black smoke. It was Mirror's spirit, slowly being repelled from its host body. Now, it was a fight against Relda and the evil man- and Mirror was clearly losing._

_"NO! You will not expel me!" Her eyes flashed. "_Lieblings? _Oh! Are you okay?" Again, they flashed. "Stop, you foolish, woman! I-must-stay!" _

_The girls watched in horror as Granny Relda's body began to twitch, convulsing as the two souls clashed for control. Sabrina turned back to her sister. "Daph, we've got to do something... to help..." Because it was clear that, however much of the black substance was pouring out of Granny's mouth, part of Mirror was struggling to hold on. _

_But that part was enough to pull one final, terrible act. Granny's body bent, snatched up the dagger, and stabbed it with all of the force it could muster into Sabrina's back, the old woman's possessed eyes black with hate. The girl's eyes grew wide. "Daphne..." she whispered, all the blood draining from her face. And then she collapsed. _

_Daphne screamed. She screamed until her throat grew ragged and raw. She screamed and shouted and cried as she went to her sister, pulled out the dagger, and felt for a pulse that was no longer there. Mirror, always a traitor, had killed her sister. The professional backstabber had just performed his blackest deed. And while his soul was being sucked out and dispelled into the wind, destroying the Scarlet Hand's master slowly and painfully, Daphne had no time to celebrate. She was consumed with grief, a grief that still remained... _

Daphne pulled in a sharp little gasp of air. The flashback... it had been so vivid. Her sister's heroic death, sure to be remembered by Everafters for centuries to come, stabbed at Daphne's heart. She blamed herself. If she had only stood up to Mirror, helped her sister, not let her take charge for once... Perhaps Sabrina Grimm would still be alive.

But she wasn't. She was lying in the coffin, perfect and unmoving. Forever.

That's when Daphne collapsed, sinking to the floor and burying her head in her hands. The scene was so pitiful, those who had contained their tears could no longer. Even William Charming allowed himself to shed a tear- even if it was hidden from the public.

At some point in time, Puck joined her, the rest of the Grimm family huddled together, mourning as a group. Those who had gathered broke into little pods of people, and some tearful souls ventured up to say their own last goodbyes to Sabrina, whether it be condemning her for trapping them again, or thanking her from stopping a terrible evil.

The faerie leaned against the casket, pulling Daphne in for a hug. "This wasn't how it was supposed to end," he whispered. "This is all wrong. In the future-"

"I know!" Daphne burst out. "And now she's dead then, too! We'll never be able to see her again! _Never!_"

She was angry, now. Her fists were balled up, though tears still leaked from her eyes.

Puck took a deep breath. "I never got to tell her, Marshmallow. Do you know how terrible that feels?"

Daphne wiped away a stray tear and looked up at him. "Tell her what, Puck?"

He struggled with himself for a moment, seemingly torn. His hands clenched and unclenched, and suddenly Daphne saw that the faerie's eyes were bright with his own tears. She had never seen him cry before, and suddenly she had a new respect for Puck. "It's hard to explain," he eventually let out, taking a deep breath. Carefully, tenderly, he reached into the casket and let a finger trace along Sabrina's cold jawline.

Daphne hugged him tighter. "Puck, did you love her?"

Puck licked his lips, wiping at his eyes. When he spoke, his voice cracked miserably. "Yeah. But- but you can't tell anyone, 'kay?" Then his tears began to spill, carving wet little tracks down his tanned cheeks.

"I think they already know."

The pair moved aside as Henry and Veronica stepped forward, hands intertwined, faces grim. Veronica whispered something into Henry's ear, and then leaned on his shoulder, still crying.

"W-we have to let her go now, 'Roni," Henry mustered. "We have to bury her." With each word he spoke, Daphne's father seemed to slump more and more.

The little girl knew exactly how he felt.

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><p>The sun was still shining brightly as the Grimm family prepared to shut Sabrina's casket for the last time and lower their little girl into the ground. It was a bittersweet moment for everyone; the Scarlet Hand was gone, the Master defeated, but at a terrible price. The death of the Grimm child had rocked the whole town, and had gathered quite a crowd.<p>

Just as Granny Relda prepared to shut the lid, blinking back tears, the Blue Fairy stepped forward. "Wait- Relda, I... I want to offer something. On behalf of the rest of the world." Her huge blue eyes blinked uncertainly.

The old woman turned. "Yes?"

The fairy pulled out her silvery wand, and, with a small smile, pointed it at Sabrina's still body. She murmured something, and there was a flash of golden light that encased the casket.

"Dad!" Daphne gasped. "Is she bringing Sabrina back to life?"

The Blue Fairy turned to the small girl, shaking her head sadly. "I'm sorry. I can't do that. But... the spell that I just cast will preserve Sabrina for all eternity, so she'll always be there."

"So... she won't, like... decompose?" Veronica asked tentatively, hugging Basil close.

The beautiful fairy shook her head. "It's the least that I can do."

"Well, it's enough," Henry said, taking a long look at his dead daughter. "Thanks."

Daphne felt her heart swell. Her dad, the guy who hated Everafters even more than Sabrina had, was saying thanks? Death sure did change how people thought.

Finally, Granny Relda turned back to Sabrina, giving her a watery kiss on the forehead. "I'll miss you, _liebling._"

"I'll even miss your rancid stench," Puck added, stepping forward. Though he still looked distraught, it was clear that no amount of sadness could put a cap on his trickster ways. Daphne smiled slightly; she could always count on Puck for that. But what made the whole family gasp- and what finally lifted their weighted hearts- was the gentle way in which Puck leaned down and pressed his lips to Sabrina's.

When he pulled back, his cheeks were flushed, but he looked like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

Daphne's palm met her lips. "It took you guys long enough," she whispered. If only 'Brina could be awake, could know that Puck loved her. But that wasn't happening. Sabrina had chosen to die. She'd chosen to sacrifice herself to save Puck and the rest of the good Everafters. Puck was, in a surprising act of kindness, thanking her.

When the lid finally closed, everyone lowered their eyes. Two of Robin Hood's men lowered it into a perfectly dug hole and began shoveling dirt over its top. The Grimm family huddled together, even pulling Puck and Red into their large embrace.

"We have to be strong," Uncle Jake murmured. "She'd want us to be strong for her."

"She was always tough for us," Red added quietly. "Let's prove we can be that strong, too."

As the large marble headstone reading, _'Here lies Sabrina Grimm, hero, sister, and daughter. May the world become a better place because of her deeds'_, was set into place, a gleaming sapphire set into its top, a new kind of feeling rested over her family.

Determination. Resolution. Strength. Though they would not get over her death for a long while, they had to tough it out. They had to remember Sabrina as she was, tough, stubborn, fiercely loyal, and brave. They had to move on with their lives, as she would have wanted. Burying her gave them a sense of peace, knowing she was at rest and comfortable in her maker's arms.

And Daphne knew, that somehow, someway, everything would turn out okay.

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><p>Life slowly returned to normal- or as normal as it could get- for the Grimm family. There were always reminders of Sabrina, though. The grocery list the girl had made a day before her death sent chills up Granny's spine as she found it underneath a pile of books, and Daphne would cry herself to sleep for the next three months. Puck had stopped aging, too. He would never grow another inch taller, forever stuck at the age of his one true love. He visited her grave every day, and always remembered to bring flowers. Henry and Veronica, broken and devastated, took a while to heal, but threw their time and effort into caring for their remaining two children. A surprising joy was discovered when Veronica found she was pregnant again, this time with a girl that they would later name Katherine Sabrina Grimm. Jake found himself a new girlfriend, this time a mortal that had all of the qualities of Briar Rose and a sweetness that the whole family took to immediately.<p>

After a while, the memory of the eldest Grimm daughter faded to a bittersweet state of admiration and mourning, though she was never, ever forgotten.

After all, Daphne reasoned, it's hard to forget someone with a life as bright as a shooting star.

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><p><strong>That (pant) took (pant) a while. XD <strong>

**Anyway, I had fun writing it, and if you guys want, could possibly expand on it in some way. I feel so bad for Puck... and Daphne... and especially her parents, who had barely gotten to see Sabrina again. *Cue bittersweet music* But MB himself said that the story was going to end in some sort of character death, and because no one EVER kills Sabrina, I took on that load. **

**Review and tell me what you thought. And feel free to expand on it. I know that I could write on this subject for forever, but for the sake of your tired eyes, I'll stop. **

**XOXO ~A**


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